The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 enters a new underwater phase this week almost seven months after the jet went missing, with two specialist ships to join the hunt.

MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people onboard and no trace of the Boeing 777-200 has been found despite a massive air, sea and underwater search.

Authorities have since used technical data to focus the search in the southern Indian Ocean far west of Western Australia along the thin, long arc from which the plane emitted its last satellite "handshake".

Australia has been spearheading the hunt for the plane, which is believed to have come down after mysteriously diverting off-course, leaving search teams with a dauntingly vast task that has been beset by false leads and initial confusion -- to the continued frustration of grieving relatives.

The latest phase to begin in early October will see two ships -- Fugro Discovery and Malaysian-contracted GO Phoenix -- send sophisticated sonar systems some 5,000 metres (3 miles) below sea level to search the ocean floor using sound waves, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.

The systems, attached to the ships by tow cables up to 10 kilometres long, have been programmed to detect the biggest parts of the aircraft that are likely to be in one piece, such as engines, landing gear and fuselage, the ATSB's Peter Foley said.

If "abnormalities" are detected, the ships will return to those areas and pilot the vehicles "slower and lower", using cameras to look at the sea bed, said Foley who is in charge of search operations.

Foley said he was "cautiously optimistic" the underwater probe would be successful, but he acknowledged the "very challenging" conditions faced by the search teams at the remote and largely unexplored location.

On the surface, the ships and their crew operate in cold, windy conditions and on rough seas with waves as high as 12 metres.

Underwater, the searchers are discovering new features in a varied terrain previously mapped with coarser resolution using limited satellite data.

"Given the area that we are going to need to potentially search, it's an extraordinary challenge," Foley said.

- Undiscovered world -

The new phase follows the mapping of some 110,000 square kilometres (44,000 square miles) of the remote area's vast sea floor since May -- by Chinese survey ship Zhu Kezhen and the Australian-contracted Fugro Equator.

With the search zone cutting across Broken Ridge -- a mountainous sea floor structure formed by spreading plate margins -- the three-dimensional maps produced from the survey by Geoscience Australia have revealed an underwater world of volcanoes, ridges and deep trenches.

The changes in height, with ridges up to 300 metres high and trenches some 1,400 metres deep, point to the tough job ahead. But the data could also inform other research after the underwater probe is concluded.

"What it is giving us is some background on the evolution of the continental plates that exist in this area, the geology of the sea floor... and it gives us places to look at in future for biological communities," Stuart Minchin, from Geoscience Australia, told AFP.

"Having this kind of information about the sea floor also impacts our modelling of ocean currents and provides some background information for potential tsunami impact modelling down the track," added Minchin.

He said the mapping had identified new features, including a ridge six kilometres wide, 15 kilometres long and nearly 2,000 metres above the sea floor, as well as two volcanoes and seamounts, which are remnants of volcanoes.

The ATSB said on September 24 that further refinement of communications and flight data from MH370 would be used to determine the first areas to be scoured by the ships, "which will most likely extend south" of the previous priority zone.

The team has also hired a sonar specialist who worked with Air France AF447's recovery team after that plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, with many similar challenges -- such as water depth and terrain -- in the searches, Foley said.

"We are totally focused on finding that aircraft and we've got really expert help, so optimism is high," he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: THE government has approved the vehicle windows’ tinting regulation that was mooted in June.

The new regulation will allow motorists to tint their vehicle to up to 70 per cent of the Vehicle Light Transmission (VLT) rate for the second row passenger windows, compared with only 50 per cent previously.

The new tinting regulation will take effect on Nov 1.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the decision to approve the proposal was made after taking into account views from stakeholders before it could be announced to the public.

“The delay in approval was because we had to delve deeper into issues and problems raised by road users, police, Land Public Transport Commission, Road Safety Research and the Road Safety Department.”

The New Straits Times had in June front-paged the proposal to review and fine-tune tinting regulations at a two-day workshop in Shah Alam. The workshop was attended by representatives from the Transport, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, International Trade and Industry, Finance and Health ministries, 11 non-governmental organisations as well as Proton Holdings Bhd and Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd.

Road Transport Department (RTD) director-general Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad said it was the right time to announce the new regulations.

“The decision was the best one to be made considering all parties involved as well as all aspects of safety. The new tint level will help prevent crime and ensure safe driving for motorists.”

Meanwhile, RTD enforcement director Jaafar Mohamed said enforcement of the new tint regulation would be carried out after a month.

“Motorists will be given ample time to remove their tint films that exceed the allowed VLT rate. They need to exercise self-regulation to ensure that they abide by the law and not blame it on third parties (accessories shops).

“Operations on heavily-tinted vehicles will commence from November onwards and motorists should have no reason to disobey the regulations anymore.”

On the accuracy of VLT measuring device, Jaafar said RTD had advised car accessories shops to acquire the device to ensure accurate VLT measurements and motorists are assured of the right VLT rate of their tinted windows.

“The devices should also be recalibrated with RTD’s to ensure accurate VLT readings. RTD is not affiliated with any accessories shops that provide RTD-compliant or RTD-certified tint films.

“It is just a sales gimmick for the shops to attract customers. Motorists need to be aware of the approved tint requirement when installing such tinted film.”

Jaafar also commented on selected vehicles that come pre-tinted, saying that imported vehicles had been inspected by the RTD during the Vehicle Test Approval stage.

“However, if there are vehicles found violating this law, they will face the same penalty as other motorists.

The new rules specify minimum permissible visible light transmission (VLT) levels of 70% for the windscreen, 50% for the front side windows and 30% for all other windows (rear side windows and rear screen), the report says.

The current rules stipulate 70% VLT for the windscreen and 50% VLT for all other windows (all side windows and the rear screen). This means that under the reported new rules, your rear side windows and rear screen may now wear darker tint.

JPJ director-general Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad told BH that the revised tint regulations are in line with international standards. They apply to all Malaysian-registered vehicles, with exceptions given to certain parties.

Current (left) and reported new tint regulations effective November 1.VLT expressed in percentages; the lower the number, the darker the tint

“(Translated) Exceptions are given to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister and his Deputy, Chief Ministers, Menteri Besar, Chief Justice and Ministers,” Ismail was quoted by BH as saying.

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SHAH ALAM, Sept 30 — The Latin American burglary gang that hit more than 15 homes in upscale areas in the Klang Valley could also be responsible for several automated teller machine (ATM) thefts last year.

Police believe a large cable belt seized from the suspects was used to cart away ATMs.

Six men and a woman were detained by police last Friday in two raids in Subang Avenue and USJ19, following two weeks of surveillance.

Shah Alam police chief ACP Azisman Alias said the seven, claiming to be from Panama and Guatemala, could be members of the infamous Latin American ATM gang.

“During the raid on one of the houses, we found a large cable belt normally used by gangs to cart away ATMs. So we believe some of the suspects could be involved in theft of money from ATMs.”

However, police are finding it difficult to make progress in investigations because the suspects are not cooperating.

“They claim they do not understand English. We know they are lying. How can you come all the way to a foreign country and not know a language like English?”

Azisman said police were looking for a translator.

On Friday, police first raided a house in Subang Avenue at 2am and arrested four men.

The four led them to another house in USJ19, where two men and a woman were nabbed.

Sex blogger insults Malaysian leaders in another Facebook post

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Sex blogger Alvin Tan has landed himself in hot water again following yet another sedition probe against him for postings on his Facebook page where he had also superimposed pig snouts on the faces of several Malaysian leaders, including the prime minister.

Astro Awani reported that police have launched an investigation against Tan, who had skipped bail and fled to the United States to seek asylum.

Tan had previously been charged along with his former partner Vivian Lee under the same Act for an offensive and controversial Ramadan greeting the couple had put up on Facebook in July last year.

“Members of the public have lodged reports against Alvin Tan. Upon this, we initiated an investigation under the Sedition Act," deputy federal CID chief Datuk Amar Singh was quoted as saying.

In a Facebook posting on September 26, Tan had slammed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, calling the latter a "coward" for the recent sedition dragnet which he called an effort to "cling on to the top post".

In a show of defiance, Tan also tagged the five, telling their supporters to not bother alerting them of the "sedition" nature of the posting.

"Come jail me, please!!! Don't bother tagging your leaders here just to alert them of "sedition" happening over here. I've done it beforehand to save you the hassle," the posting read.

He had also likened Khalid, the nation's top cop to Germany's SS chief Heinrich Himmler, who was responsible for building Nazi concentration camps and had directed the killing of some millions of Jews during the Second World War.

"Yes, Khalid Abu Bakar, you're like the Nazi SS Commander Heinrich Himmler, no less, and let me tell you why: because you abused your power just because someone called you names you didn't like. You're a bully, a coward."

"Zahid Hamidi, you're the closest thing to true evil, and your day will come. I promise. There will be no mercy (tip: google 'Qaddafi')," he said.

Khalid had earlier vowed to go all out to look for Alvin despite the fact that he was in the US, promising to search every "worm hole" for the 26-year-old fugitive.

Tan, the IGP said, was rude and could not be forgiven because he had shamed some Malaysian leaders with his offensive pictures and status posts on his Facebook account.

"He thinks he can run. But every country has its own regulations and we will not give up looking for him," Khalid was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

The former law student at the National University of Singapore, and his then partner Vivian Lee, first came under the spotlight after uploading raunchy sex postings on their blog in 2012.

But it was their bak kut teh posting during Ramadan last year that landed them in hot water, and even in jail briefly – after they were charged under the Sedition Act and the Film Censorship Act.

Tan violated his bail conditions while on a supposed working trip to Singapore and is now on Interpol's wanted list.

After lying low for a while, he recently emerged on social media to make known his plans for asylum in the US and is believed to be in Los Angeles, California.

Tan told The Malaysian Insider recently that his decision to flee his homeland was to escape the government's "tyranny" as well as the "ignorance"